Bad things happen in the world; that’s just the reality of life.
However, when tragedies or accidents began to have things in common, people very quickly
begin connecting the dots.
And of course, when these accidents happen on a film set, especially a horror film, people
go crazy, throwing theories about evil entities and demons around left right and centre.
So today on Top 10 Beyond The Screen, I’m going to be counting down our list of the
Top 10 Scary Cursed Movies You Should Never Watch.
Let’s jump in.
10 The Amityville Horror (1979) Released back in 1979 and starring James Brolin,
the father of Josh Brolin, and Margot Killer, the film of course follows newlyweds who move
into a large home where a mass murder was committed, and quickly begin to experience
strange manifestations which drive them away.
Now, whenever you’re making a horror movie based on a true story, you know it’s going
to be creepy and this case is no different.
The Amityville Horror is based on the paranormal experiences of the Lutz family after moving
into a haunted house on 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York.
Prior to the Lutz family moving in, previous resident Ronald DeFeo Jr. shot and killed
his entire family.
The Lutzes claim they were forced out of the home by some sort of evil entity.
Now, the true story faced a lot of criticism, with many people claiming it was fake, even
James Brolin, star of the film.
However, one night he experienced quite the fright.
While studying the novel for the film, which he was initially hesitant to take part in,
his pants fell from their hanger causing him to jump and nearly crashed his head through
the ceiling.
He immediately agreed to the role.
9 The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) Released in 2005, The Exorcism of Emily Rose
follows a lawyer who takes on a negligent homicide case involving a priest who performed
an exorcism on a young girl.
Now, The Exorcism of Emily Rose very quickly proved itself to be a bone-chilling exorcism
movie based on a true case that occurred in the 1970s -- to the point that it seemed some
of the strange events were rubbing off on the actress.
Jennifer Carpenter, who played Emily Rose, encountered a lot of oddities while filming.
Her stereo would play at odd hours of the night -- often turning itself on and off without
being touched.
Now, it only happened a few times, but the actress has stated that it did terrify her,
with it blasting music really loud, even one time Pearl Jam’s - Alive.
Spooky stuff.
8 The Conjuring (2013) I love The Conjuring series, and am waiting
with bated breath for chapter 3, however, let’s discuss the first two movies.
The cursed movies.
The Conjuring was released back in 2013 and was directed by James Wan -- it followed paranormal
investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren who worked with a family to help free them from a dark
presence terrorizing their farmhouse.
So, of course, it only makes sense that a movie based on witchcraft and the paranormal
would end up carrying some pretty bad vibes.
As most know, The Conjuring was based on the true story of what happened when Ed and Lorraine
investigated a house that was allegedly haunted by a witch -- and, everything about the movie
seemed cursed, even down to the script.
Almost everyone on set claimed to feel unsettled, and unusually jittery, with many feeling watched
by a menacing presence.
One crew member’s dog even began to behave strangely, growling at nothing, and once the
film wrapped, the dog began to act normal.
One actress even reported feeling a strange wind that would blow out of nowhere, and when
she fell ill and had to go to the hospital, she blamed the strange air that seemed to
waft around the set.
Vera Farmiga, who played Lorraine Warren, also wasn’t entirely comfortable with the
film -- to the point that she would never bring the script home with her -- she even
claimed to have found claw marks on the cover of her laptop after returning from shooting.
However, the most shocking incident was the random fire that broke out on set.
No cause was discovered, but most claimed an upset spirit sparked the flames.
7 The Possession (2012) The Possession was a 2012 movie based on the
true story of a couple who found themselves as owners of a Dybbuk Box.
Now, of course the film didn’t include the real box, but instead a fake one, however,
the star of the film, Jeffrey Dean Morgan will tell you something sinister was still
at play regardless.
He stated, I quote, “I’m a skeptic, look I’m not going to lie.
That being said, there was some weird goings on.
Lots of light bulbs exploding.
Just overall king of creepiness.
“Don’t mock the box”, was sort of the mantra that we lived by while we were filming
this.”
However, their mantra didn’t seem to help because during shooting, props would often
ignite by themselves.
At one point, the real owner of a Dybbuk box offered to give them the box for shooting.
They very quickly declined.
6 The Crow (1994) Released in 1994, The Crow starring Brandon
Lee follows a man who is brutally murdered and comes back to life as an undead avenger
of his and his fiancee’s murder.
Now, Brandon was of course the son of famous martial arts actor, Bruce Lee, however, tragedy
struck while Brandon was filming some of the final scenes for The Crow.
One scene involved Brandon being shot with a rubber bullet, however, there was a metal
shard logged in the chamber, and when the bullet hit Brandon, it killed him.
He was just 28 years old at the time.
Now, it was just a freak accident, however, when you couple the tragedy with his father
Bruce’s death at 32, things get a little creepier.
His father, Bruce, supposedly had premonitions of his death, including one that told him
he would only live half the time of his father who was 64 years old.
Brandon himself even admitted to believing in their families curse.
5 Rosemary’s Baby (1968) Rosemary’s Baby is a film that is rife with
paranormal goings on, on and off screen.
Directed by Roman Polanski and starring Mia Farrow, the film follows a young couple who
move into a new apartment only to be surrounded by peculiar neighbors and strange occurrences.
When the wife becomes mysteriously pregnant, paranoia over the safety of her unborn baby
quickly sets in.
Now, things get very odd very quickly here, so keep up.
Anton LaVey who was rumored to play the Devil in Rosemary’s Baby, which never happened,
he of course went on to found the Church of Satan.
He was also friends with Susan Atkins who would go on to play a role in the murder of
Sharon Tate, Polanski’s pregnant wife.
Producer William Castle also received threatening letters following the film’s release, and
in turn he suffered from a debilitating health issue soon after, which convinced him the
movie was cursed.
During one emergency room visit he apparently screamed: “Rosemary, for God’s sake, drop
the knife!”.
And finally, the composer of the movie died of a mysterious brain injury after filming.
4 The Innkeepers (2011) The Innkeepers is a fantastic indie horror
movie that was primarily filmed in a reportedly haunted hotel in Connecticut.
The Yankee Pedlar Inn.
The Innkeepers follows the final days at the Yankee Pedlar Inn, as two employees are determined
to reveal the hotel’s haunted past during which time they begin to experience disturbing
events as old guests check in for a stay.
However, it wasn’t the film itself that became the main focus, it was the creepy events
going on behind the scenes.
Director, Ti West, stated, I quote, “I’m a skeptic so I don’t really buy it.
But I’ve definitely seen doors close by themselves; I’ve seen a TV turn off and
on by itself; lights would always burn out in my room.
Everyone on the crew has very vivid dreams every night, which is really strange.”
However, the creepiest story involves the Honeymoon Suite, which is where the most ghostly
activity took place.
Ti West picked that room because it was big enough to do a dolly shot, no more thought
than that went into it.
However, it is then that he and the rest of the cast found it that the Honeymoon Suite
is the most haunted room in real life -- that can’t just be a coincidence.
Were they lured in by spirits?
Not only that, but the star of the film Sara Paxton would wake up every night believing
someone was in the room with her.
3 The Exorcist (1974) When The Exorcist was released, audience members
fainted and vomited in the movie theatre during the release of William Friedkin’s chilling
film.
When you’re dealing with the devil, you know it’s not going to be a fun time.
The Exorcist of course follows a young girl, Regan, who becomes possessed by a demon after
playing with a Ouija Board, and the movie made national news when a church across the
street from a theatre premiering the film was struck by lightning, causing the cross
to fall to the ground.
Coincidence?
I think not.
Weirder still, actor Jack MacGowran who played Burke Dennings in the movie, developed the
flu shortly after filming and sadly passed away.
According to reports, there are at least 8 deaths associated with the production of The
Exorcist, and on top of that, the set for the MacNeil home burned down in a studio fire,
the only room left untouched by the flames was Regan’s room.
2 The Omen (1976) We’ve discussed The Omen numerous times
on this channel, but for those who don’t know, the film follows the mysterious deaths
that begin to surround an American Ambassador but quickly begin to believe that his child
could in fact be the antichrist.
Now, like most of our numbers, The Omen is yet another film that had just as terrifying
off-screen tragedies than it did on-screen, and that’s saying something.
Star of the film, Gregory Peck, and screenwriter David Seltzer, were aboard a plane when it
was struck by lightning, during which time producer Harvey Bernhard was almost struck
by lightning in Rome.
Not only that, but several other people were also involved in traumatic events.
During filming, Donner’s hotel was bombed by the IRA and Peck almost boarded a flight
that crashed and killed everyone.
Not only that, but Peck’s son committed suicide several months before filming began,
and following production, special effects director John Richardson and his assistant
Liz Moore were involved with a serious car accident that decapitated Moore.
All in all, anyone that had an involvement in the making of The Omen met a grisly fate.
1 Poltergeist (1982) Poltergeist to this day is still considered
to be one of the scariest films of all time, and not just on the screen, off of it as well.
The film follows a young family as their lives are turned upside down when malevolent ghosts
invade their home and their daughter is abducted by evil spirits.
Now, during and after production many strange events unfolded, leading folks to believe
that the movie was cursed.
Dominique Dunn who starred in the film was murdered by her boyfriend at the age of 22.
Julian Beck who played Henry Kane died of stomach cancer in 1985.
Will Sampson who played Taylor in Poltergeist II died in 1985 of post-operative kidney failure.
However, the most bizarre of all of these was the death of Heather O’Rourke who played
Carol Anne in all three films.
During production of the third film, 12 year old Heather died whilst filming the final
scene of the movie.
After developing stomach cramps on set, she quickly took a turn and went into cardiac
arrest.
She had emergency surgery but ultimately suffered from septic shock and died on the operating
table.
Creepier still, in one scene in the film, her brother Robbie has a poster for Super
Bowl XXII in his room -- which would place six years later in 1988.
Heather died the day after the Super Bowl XXII in San Diego -- the same city where the
game took place.
Spooky.
Well, there we have it!
Do you guys agree with our list?
Were there any cursed movies that we missed?
Leave us all your thoughts and feelings in the comments down below and perhaps we can
do a part 2.
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turn on notifications so you never miss another Beyond The Screen vid.
And until next time, see ya later.